DR1 Travel News - 6 December 2016

La Romana is Blue Flag beach destination
The La Romana-Bayahibe Hotels Association has announced that Catalonia Gran Dominicus, Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, Hoteles Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach, Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace, Be Live Collection Canoa, Dreams La Romana and Casa de Campo Resort, all in the southeastern coastal area of La Romana, are now Blue Flag certified beaches. The new certification is valid for 2016-2017.

This is the first time that Casa de Campo has received the Blue Flag certification.

The announcement was made by the director of the La Romana-Bayahibe Tourism Cluster, Ana García-Sotoca. She said that the main beaches in Dominicus, Bayahibe and Minitas (Casa de Campo) are now Blue Flag beaches. She recalled that Dominicus was the first Dominican beach to obtain the prestigious European water quality beach certification some 13 years ago.*

AMResorts opens Dreams Dominicus
Dreams Dominicus welcomed its first guests at the all-inclusive resort located on Dominicus Beach in La Romana during the first week of December 2016. The 391-suite all-inclusive beachfront resort is AMResorts’ fourth Dreams Resort in the Dominican Republic, and the company’s eleventh resort in the Dominican Republic.

Dreams Dominicus has eight restaurants, including five with á-la-carte options.

Apple Leisure Group CEO Alex Zozaya said that the new property strengthens the country’s family-friendly offering. The hotel has an Explorer’s Club for Kids (age 3 to 12) and supervised day and evening activities at the Core Zone Teens Club (age 13 to 17).

“The Dominican Republic is an easily accessible destination from a variety of major gateways, which is an important factor in our expansion strategy,” said Javier Coll, executive vice President and chief Strategy Officer of Apple Leisure Group.

Secrets Cap Cana opens in Punta Cana
AmResorts opened its new Secrets Cap Cana Resort on 2 December 2016. The 457-room property on Juanillo Beach is located inside the Cap Cana hotel and residential community in Punta Cana.

AmResorts CEO Alex Zozaya described the new resort as a “game changer” for AMResorts Secrets Resorts & Spas brand.

The resort features bungalow-style and swim out suites, an expansive infinity pool, and eight gourmet restaurants. The resort is next to the Punta Espada championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. The Los Establos equestrian center with polo fields is nearby, as well as the Cap Cana Marina.

AMResorts is also offering “The Sip, Savor & See Dining Experience” that allows guests to customize their vacations with even more dinner, drinks and live entertainment options from the nine Secrets, Breathless, Dreams, Now and Sunscape Resorts & Spas properties in the Punta Cana region.

AMResorts, a subsidiary of Apple Leisure Group, is the fastest-growing hotel company in the wider Caribbean region, with plans to sign its 100th resort deal by 2020.

Chinese tourists can help DR reach 10M goal
The People’s Republic of China’s trade representative in the Dominican Republic, Fu Xinrong says that the country needs to look to China if it wants to meet President Danilo Medina’s 10-million tourist target for the Dominican Republic by 2022.*

Speaking during a trade exhibition held at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel in Santo Domingo, Xinrong said that last year 120 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad and the number is expected to increase to 700 million in five years time, reflecting China’s economic growth.

The vice president of the Chinese Board for the Promotion of International Trade, Zhang Wei, who also attended the trade show, said that the DR should take action to attract Chinese tourists. Also speaking at the event, Rafael Blanco Canto of the National Business Council (Conep) agreed that the country needed to promote initiatives aimed at encouraging Chinese tourists to visit the country. He said the DR had received only 13,158 visitors from Asia in October 2016. “This means there is a lot of space for growth,” he said, as reported in Hoy.

He praised the trade show as a way of strengthening links between the People’s Republic of China and the Dominican Republic. He said that Dominicans admired Chinese people and their culture.